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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Move over, every other upside down cake. This cinnamon spice upside down apple cake blows them out of the water! A buttery brown sugar caramel with cinnamon, allspice and thin apple slices bakes into the bottom of the pan, then you flip it out over a tender vanilla apple cake. It’s an apple caramel dream, it feeds a crowd from one 9×13 pan, and it’s my favourite way to use up apples.
Love a fruit-topped cake? My Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake is the summer version, and my Peach Upside Down Cake is the bomb. Planning your Thanksgiving dessert table? Put this cake right next to my Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup.
“This is the best cake you’ve ever made.” That’s what my daughter said to me as we finished our slices with a smidgen of vanilla ice cream on top. My first bestselling cookbook was 125 desserts, so my kids have tasted more cakes than just about anyone I know. That’s high praise in this house!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is an easy recipe. If you can cream butter and sugar and flip a pan, you’ve got this!
- Total Time: About 30 minutes of prep and 40 to 50 minutes in the oven, plus 5 minutes to rest before you flip it.
- Variations: Add a little cinnamon to the cake batter if you love spice, or try it with pears. For a breakfast treat with the same flavours, make my Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
- Tools For This Recipe: You’ll need a 9×13-inch pan, a box grater, a stand or hand mixer and a large platter or sheet pan for flipping.
- Servings: One pan cuts into 20 slices, so it’s perfect for a big holiday crowd.
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What You’ll Need for Ingredients
The Topping: Melted salted butter, packed brown sugar, cinnamon and a little allspice make the caramel, and 4 cups of thinly sliced apples sit on top of it. This all goes into the BOTTOM of the pan first, so when you flip the cake it becomes the topping and drizzles down over the cake. Karlynn’s Tip: Slice the apples thin and lay them in ONE even layer. If you pile them up, the apples in the middle won’t cook through or get coated in that gooey caramel.
The Best Apples: Use sweeter apples like Gala, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Golden Delicious or Red Delicious. I used Gala. Sour apples like Granny Smith aren’t the best here unless you add more sugar. This is also the perfect recipe for those apples in the crisper that are starting to wrinkle a bit, as long as they aren’t rotten or mouldy. Peel them and use them, they don’t need to be crisp! I used up 5 small to medium apples in one cake.
The Apple Cake: Soft butter, brown and white sugar, 4 large eggs, vanilla, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt, plus 1 cup of grated apple. The cake itself is freaking amazing. It’s light but dense enough to hold together when you slice it, and it would make a great basic coffee cake too. I leave the spices out of the batter and let the topping do the talking.
Grated Apples: A few of you asked if grated and shredded apples are different. In this recipe they’re the same thing! Peel and core the apple, run it over the large holes of a box grater and pack it into the measuring cup. Karlynn’s Tip: Do NOT blot or squeeze the grated apples. The cake batter needs all of that moisture.
Frozen Apples: Yes, you can use frozen apples. Thaw them completely and drain off the extra liquid first so the topping doesn’t get watery.
How To Make Cinnamon Spice Upside Down Apple Cake
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Grease the sides of a 9×13-inch pan and pour the melted butter into the bottom.
- Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice, sprinkle it evenly over the butter, then lay the apple slices on top in one even layer.
- Cream the butter and sugars, beat in the eggs one at a time until light and fluffy, then mix in the vanilla.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together, beat them into the wet ingredients, then mix in the grated apples.
- Gently spread the batter over the apples and bake at 350°F for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and a knife comes out clean.
- Let it sit for 5 minutes, run a knife around the edges, then flip it out onto a large platter or sheet pan.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Upside Down Apple Cake
- Fight Over the Edges: The caramel soaks into the cake and turns the edges into slightly hardened, sticky, candied cake. The kids (okay fine, all of us) fought over the edge pieces. They’re the best part, not even kidding!
- Slice the Apples Thin: The most common upside down cake mistake is thick apple slices that are still crunchy when the cake is done. Aim for about ⅛ inch thick so they turn soft and jammy in the caramel.
- How to Tell It’s Done: Stick a toothpick into the centre of the cake. When it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, it’s ready. Ovens vary a lot, so start checking at 40 minutes.
- Flip It While It’s Warm: Wait just long enough that you can handle the pan safely, about 5 minutes, then loosen the edges and flip. If it cools completely, the caramel sets and sticks to the pan. If a few apple slices stay behind, just tuck them back on top.
- How to Serve It: It’s perfect just as it is, but a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a warm slice is pure heaven.
- Make It for Thanksgiving Morning: Bake it the morning of your dinner so your oven is free for the turkey and sides. It’s lovely at room temperature, or warm a slice for a few seconds in the microwave and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Got a smaller crowd? Two 9-inch round pans work too, just start checking them sooner.
Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Cover the cake or store slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We ate this for breakfast three days in a row, and I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t too sweet for breakfast! Following USDA guidelines, don’t leave it sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Freezer: Wrap cooled slices well in plastic wrap and freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge. The topping softens a little after freezing, but it still tastes wonderful.
More Delicious Apple Dessert Recipes
Got even more apples to use up? Try one of these next:
- My Homemade Sweet Apple Pie is made with sweeter apples like McIntosh and still has that perfect apple pie taste.
- This Easy Apple Galette is a simple, rustic free-form apple pie.
- My Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby is a puffy skillet pancake with an apple cinnamon filling, perfect for lazy mornings.
And there you have it, folks! A cinnamon spice upside down apple cake that’s easy enough for a weeknight and pretty enough for your Thanksgiving dessert table.
Give this recipe a try and leave a comment below to let me know: which apples did you use, and did your family fight over the edge pieces too?
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
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Cinnamon Spice Upside Down Apple Cake
Ingredients
Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Topping
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 4 cups apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Apple Cake Batter
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated apples , peeled, cored and grated, packed into the measuring cup
Instructions
Topping (goes in the bottom of the pan)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare a 9×13-inch pan by greasing the sides then pouring the melted butter into the bottom.
- Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the melted butter.
- Arrange the apple slices in a single, even layer on top of the sugar/butter mixture.
Apple Cake Batter
- Cream your butter and sugars together, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla.
- Whisk together your dry ingredients. Beat into the wet ingredients until combined. Mix in the grated apples until spread throughout the batter.
- Gently spread the batter over top of the apple mixture.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 40 to 50 minutes, until it's golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Once you can touch the pan safely, run a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the edges, then flip onto a large platter or sheet pan.
Notes
- The “topping” part starts out by going into the bottom of the pan, so that when you flip it, it’s the actual topping that drizzles down over top of the cake.
- Do NOT blot the grated apples, you need all of the moisture for the cake batter!!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Joe says
please answer the lady who asked about the shredded apples verses grated apples. I was confused also. Have a nice day!
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
they meant the same thing but I get the confusion and will update accordingly.
Joan Parker says
Could you use frozen apples in this recipe??
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
In theory yes, you would want to ensure they were defrosted prior to eliminate any excess moisture, however.
Julie says
Excellent recipe and very easy to make and so delicious! 😋
Kenny Huff says
I ad 5 Oz of plain yogurt and made this recipe in 2 9″ rounds
Esther Lord says
I made the recipe for your Upside Down Pineapple Bread Pudding last night as part of our New Year’s Eve munchies spread. I double the butter and brown sugar for the base in my baking dish. Oh Man 🤗, it was freaking deeeeelicious 😋. My husband asked me to put that recipe in with his favorites !! It was a big hit for everyone else too !! Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to check out the recipe up above. Again, thank you 😉✌️
Zaida Velazquez says
Hi Karlynn, in the Apple Cake Batter ingredients you listed 1cup “grated” apples but in your directions for Apple Cake Batter you use the word “shredded” apples. I thought grated and shredded were two different things. What should I do grate the apples or shred the apples. Please let me know because I can’t wait to try this amazing cake recipe and thank you so much!
Sherry mennis says
I just made the cake,and the apples didn’t get done,I used several layers on the topping or I would have had lots of apples left I cooked it for 50 some mins when I dumped it out the apples in the middle didn’t have much goo on them I used the amount you called for, so what so I do ?
Nancy says
AWESOMENESS!!!!!!
Jillian says
This is one of my favourite recipe’s that I’ve tried off your website. I’ve been basically trying a new recipe every day (kind of like that movie … where the girl bakes all of I believe Julia Childs recipe’s *don’t quote me, my memory is awful) but that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s been so fun! Highly recommend.
Linda dawson says
Can you use any kind of Apple
Sheila Martin says
Nothing wrong with cake for breakfast – we even have ice cream for breakfast – ok together!
Rinku says
The recipe sounds amazing, however can I bake it in round 9” cake pan.
Marika Diamond says
Why couldn’t I use a yellow came mix … Add the grated apple, and some brown sugar..I think it woul work.
Rachel says
I am going to try with spice cake mix and see how it turns out!
Jennifer says
Can the upside down apple cake be put in the freezer?
Sharene says
It says to grate apples, however instructions say to arrange slices – did I miss something f?
Karlynn Johnston says
Hi Sharlene,
There are instructions for each part of the cake, there’s instructions for the batter and then there’s instructions for the topping. follow each one in order and you’ll see that one has grated apples and the other has sliced! Hope that helps!
Nann says
Hi Karlynn
This caramel apple cake sounds marvelous
Can’t wait to try it
You are adorable!